Introduction: What a weekend it had been for the followers of Jesus. It seemed as if the bottom fell out of their lives. All of their hopes and dreams had seemed to vanish on Friday when Jesus had died on the cross. They were in a state of shock and fear. Everything had happened so fast. Early on Sunday morning (Easter to you and I) the women went to the tomb that held the body of Jesus. They had rushed back to the disciples with the news that they had seen angels who had told them that Jesus was risen. But the disciples at first just dismissed it as hysteria. Peter and John, ran to the tomb and discovered that it was indeed empty. Jesus’ band of followers were leaderless and falling apart, with at least two of them already on their way home. The very afternoon of the report of the empty tomb, two of the discouraged and frustrated believers, Cleopas (kle’-op-as) and an unidentified companion, set out for their home in Emmaus. I can’t say for sure but I think these two were utterly defeated and were throwing in the towel and going home.
On the way they met a stranger. It was actually the risen Jesus, but they did not recognize Him. Part of the delight of this story is that we as the readers know what the characters do not. The encounter between Jesus and the two disciples on the road to Emmaus is one of the most vivid of the resurrection appearances. The account is found only in our text in Luke.
I want to warn you about three things that discouragement can do to you.
1. First, Discouragement can cause you to walk away from the fellowship of Believers. (vv. 14-16)
As they journeyed they were moving away from the fellowship of the other believer’s in Jerusalem. When Christians allow themselves to become preoccupied with their dashed hopes and frustrated plans they often withdraw from the strength found in other believer’s.
“Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem. They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; but they were kept from recognizing him.” Luke 24:13-16
For some reason the eyes of these disciples were restrained from recognizing who Jesus was. Perhaps it was their preoccupation on their own disappointment and problems. But I think that it was the Lord’s way of making them verbalize their feelings so He could lead them to solve their problems by seeing the truth for themselves.
They had forgotten the truth found in Isaiah 43:2-3 which says, “When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; And when you you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you; when you walk through the fire you will not be burned, the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the Lord, your God, the Holy One of Israel…”
Discouragement and Frustration can cause Us to walk away from the fellowship of Believers and …
2. Secondly, Discouragement and Frustration Can Cause Us To Live In the Past
(vv. 17-24)
“He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?” They stood still, their faces downcast. One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one living in Jerusalem who doesn’t know the things that have happened there in these days?”
As Jesus joins the two disciples as the walk along they are deep in a discussion with each other. The discussion seem to be intense, for three different words are used to describe it “conversed” (homiloun) (v. 14), “reasoned” (suzetein) (v 15) which suggests strong debate and “conversation” (antiballete) (v. 17) which has the idea of throwing words back and forth like a ball. In their bewilderment they were tossing ideas back and forth about what they had learned, heard and understood – and what it all meant in the light of the latest development, Jesus’ death.
Jesus asks them what they are discussing and why they are so obviously sad. In asking this question Jesus allowed these disciples to express their deepest hurts, angers and frustrations. Why did Jesus draw near to two obscure disciples? We can take heart today in the fact that Jesus often made His most remarkable revelations to the least remarkable people. Here we see two people who are never heard of before and never seen again after this. Which just points out there are no unimportant people to Jesus.
As Jesus joins these two disciples He knew their hearts and knew their needs. But he still asked them a leading question, and gave them opportunity to pour out their confusion and disappointment. He has not changed. He will still draw near to us and listen as we tell him what troubles us.
Cleopas is amazed and with great irony says, “You’ve got to be the only guy in Jerusalme who doesn’t know what has happened the last few days?”
Jesus responds to Cleopas by saying, “What things.
At that moment these two disciples were living a past tense faith. In the remainder of verse nineteen through twenty-one they list all the things Jesus was. "…About Jesus of Nazareth, they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priest and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him.”
He was Jesus the Nazarene…
He was a prophet…
He was mighty in deeds…
He was mighty in words…
He was loved by the common people…
He was hated by the religious leadership..
He was crucified…
They summed up their condition very neatly when they said in verse twenty-one, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”
Notice the use of the past tense, “we had hoped,” which strongly implies that this was not relevant to the present or they would not have so discouraged and distressed. The saddest death of all has to be the death of hope. They had hoped but now the flame of hope was all but extinguished as made clear as Cleopas continues,
And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place. In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but him they did not see.”
Discouragement can cause us too live In the Past And…
3. Third, Discouragement can cause us to question God’s Love and care. (vv. 25-33)
We might have expected Jesus to respond by saying, “I understand.” But in verse twenty-five He says, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!”
When He says they were slow to believe “all” that the prophets had spoken, it indicated that the disciples had been selective in their belief. They believed part of the word of God, but not all. These disciples had been guilty of believing the word of God selectively, believing those things that fit in with the neat little box that they had created for God. Their understanding of the Scripture was worked by their assumptions and preconceptions and even by their sin. And so is ours!
Heartbreak happens this way: we think God should do something based on our faulty knowledge of His word. He doesn’t do it. We get discouraged and think God let us down, that He has disappointed us. But the problem is not with God but with us.
His words are not meant to harm or insult but to challenge their belief. What truth are you not believing?
Is It That That God cares about you? (1 Peter 5:7). “Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.” (NLT)
Is It That God can provide for you! (Phil. 4:19) “And my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”
If we find ourselves hurting and despairing and do not find that Scripture speaks to our situation, it is caused by one of two things. Either we do not want it well enough or we do not believe it.
The Lord went on beginning in verse twenty-six to show them that all of the Old Testament spoke of Him.
"Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory? And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was siad in all the Scriptures concerning himself.”
Beginning in Genesis with the promised sacrifice (Gen. 3:15) and going through the suffering servant in Isaiah 53, the pierced one in Zechariah 12:10, and the messenger of the covenant in Malachi 3, Jesus introduced Himself to these disciples through the Old Testament.
As the two travelers approached the end of their journey, the stranger appeared to be going on. Traveling at night was both difficult and dangerous, so they insisted that he stay with them saying in verse twenty-nine, "But they urged him strongly, ‘stay with us, for it is nearly evening; the day is almost over. So he went in to stay with them.”
Verse thirty tells us that as they sat down to eat, Jesus played the part of the host, for the host would break the bread at the beginning of the meal for it says, “When he was at the table with them, he toodk bread, gave thanks, broked it and began to give it to them.”
Perhaps it was in doing this that their eyes were opened. For verse thirty-one reveals, “Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight.” They asked each other, Were not our hearts burning with us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
Let me illustrate with the words that Mark Buchanan wrote of his own experience in his book entitled “Your God Is Too Safe.” He wrote that when he was saved, “I hit the ground running. Immediately, I volunteered for everything, anything, that I felt vaguely interested in and marginally qualified for. I led the youth group; I helped with the music, I taught Sunday school; I wrote the church newsletter; I became a camp counselor; I served as a mentor to several young men. But something, somewhere, went awry. The zeal fizzled. The fire in my bones became only an a ache in my joints. My running became plodding. My lightness became heaviness. My joyfulness became jadedness. I joined the ranks of the murmurers and faultfinders – those that did not like the music or the sermon or the color of the azalea’s behind the church – and I found their number legion.” [Mark Buchanan. Your God Is Too Safe. (Multnomah, 2001) p. 9-10]
Is That Your Story Today??
The truth is that God wants to set our hearts on fire. He wants to give us a burning passion for life. We all long for the eternal but are two easily contented with the temporary. We all want to be a part of something worthwhile but spend too time wasted.
In 2 Timothy 1:6 Paul tells Timothy, “Therefore, I remind you to keep ablaze the gift of God that is in you...” Perhaps this is what we need to remind ourselves of today. To keep the fire burning in our hearts.
The Lord gave these disciples a passion and a purpose where all there had been was pain. And it came from two things. These are still basic to a relationship with Jesus today: spending time with Him – that is prayer and in spending time in the Scripture – that of course is the Bible. A burning heart is found in these two things.
The result in the life of the two disciples was, that although by this point it is already after dark they couldn’t wait until the morning to go back to Jerusalem. They had to share their experience and no one in Emmaus would understand.
One of the best signs of recovery from depression is a desire to be back among other believer’s. They had to go back to where the other disciples were gathered. Verse thirty-three tells us that they decided that they must return at once to Jerusalem. “They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem. There they found the Eleven and those with them, assembled together and saying, “It is true! The Lord has risen and has appeared to Simon.” Then the two told what had happened on the way, and how Jesus was recognized by them when he broke the bread”
So the long discourage walk to Emmaus now became a joyous run to Jerusalem with renewed strength and encouragement.
It reminds us of the story 2 Kings 7:9
The Aramean army was laying siege to the city of Jerusalem when all of a sudden the Lord caused them to hear the sounds of chariots and horses of a great army. They immediately thought that the King of Israel had appealed to Egypt for help and the sound they heard was the army of Egypt. So they left everything in the camp and fled into the night. Some Jewish men with Leprosy came upon the camp and found it empty. They ate some of the food and got something to drink, then they preceded to take some of the silver and gold from the camp. They hid it and came back for more. Then one of the men decided that it wasn’t right for them to keep this good news from the King and the residents of Jerusalem.
“Then they said to each other, ‘we’re not doing right. This is a day of good news and we are keeping it to ourselves. If we wait until daylight, punishment will overtake us. Let’s go at once and report this to the royal palace…" 2Kings 7:9
In the same way these two disciples of the Lord, who had been blinded by their own grief, decided that the fact that Jesus was alive, and had appeared to them was too good to keep to themselves, so they left immediately for Jerusalem, even though it was dark. They didn’t worry about the danger, or the distance. They had good news to share and they couldn’t wait to tell their story.
That’s the same attitude we should have about sharing the good news. Unfortunately most of the time we choose to wait until “a better time,” and consequently miss out on the privilege of being used by God.
Are you discouraged or even depressed this morning?
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